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The Opposition parties and stakeholders in Kerala’s Sabarimala temple on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to hear review petitions against its judgment and demanded that women in the 10-50 age group should not be allowed inside the temple during the Mandala Makaravillakku pilgrim season, starting November 17.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, however, said that the state government would take a final call on the issue after consulting legal experts as the apex court had not stayed its September 28 decision. The LDF government, which has been tasked with implementing the directions of the apex court on the entry of women of all ages at the temple, has also called an all-party meeting on Thursday. After holding a meeting to review the facilities at the temple ahead of the upcoming pilgrim season on Tuesday, Vijayan said the verdict of the SC Constitutional bench “still remains in force”.
“The court has not stayed its earlier verdict. The court has stated that all review petitions would be heard on January 22. That means, it (hearing of review petitions) would happen only after the Sabarimala pilgrim season ends on January 20. The court hasn’t stayed the earlier order. We have to look into its legal aspects,” the Chief Minister said.
Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar has also said that it would also decide on the next step after consulting legal experts. “We hope the all-party meeting will look into it (entry of women of all ages into the temple). The board has to obey the Supreme Court as well as ensure that the traditions and rituals at the temple are maintained,” Padmakumar said.
Ramesh Chennithala, Congress leader and LoP in the Assembly, meanwhile, advised the state government to take a judicious stand on the matter. “The Kerala government should not forcibly take young women to the temple. It should respect the prevailing sentiments of the devotees. The Congress will continue to fight for protecting the rights of the devotees,” he said.
Claiming that the apex court’s decision to hear the review petitions in the open court reflected the sentiments of devotees, BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai also asked the Vijayan government not to allow women from the “barred” age group to enter the shrine during the two-month-long festival. “The government should not implement the earlier (September 28) order…. until the final verdict of the Supreme Court on the review petitions.”
Meanwhile, Sabarimala temple head priest Rajeevaru Kandararu said the court’s decision was a “a major victory”.
“I am happy over the decision. The temple has been going through a difficult situation in the wake of the floods and the Supreme Court verdict on young women’s entry. The decision that the review petitions would be heard in an open court is a major victory. We expect that the final verdict would substantiate our stand on entry of young women to Sabarimala,” Kandararu said.
Representative of the erstwhile royal family of Pandalam, Sasikumar Varma claimed that the apex court’s decision to hear review petitions indicated that “half of the battle is won”.
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